​​We found we needed to add consultor administrātīvus (management consultant) for one of us and rude dōnātus (retired) for another.. The rudis was presented to a gladiator as a symbol of his release from the obligation to fight and, according to Roger Dunkle’s detailed study, Gladiators: Violence and Spectacle in Ancient Rome (Routledge, 2013), pp.71 & 322 (https://books.google.com.hk/books/about/Gladiators.html?id=qNTfAAAAMAAJ), this was a ceremonial staff, not a mock sword of the type used in training because the latter was always referred to as rudēs (plural), even when the meaning was singular. However, the references to ancient authors that he gives to support this seem to me to be interpretable as either singular or plural, so the issue remains open.

Whether swords or sticks, the most famous occasion of their award to gladiators was at the inauguration of the Colosseum in 80 or 81 A.D. Two combatants fought for hours and then simultaneously yielded to each other. The emperor Titus proclaimed both of them victors and gave both the rudis. This fight is known to us from a poem of Martial’s (see Latin text and translation at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verus_(gladiator) A fictionalised account is provided in the 2002 BBC documentary drama `Colosseum: Rome’s Arena of Death.’

​Pat mentioned a visit to Roman border posts in the Caucasus, most significant of which is the fort at Apsaros (modern Gonio, `Fortess of the Genoans’) in SW Georgia about 20 miles north of the present Turkish border and 10 miles south of the modern-day port of Batumi (ancient Bathys). Boundaries in this region fluctuated continually, depending on the balance of power between Parthia/Persia and Rome. The emperor Trajan made Armenia a Roman province in 114 A.D. but his successor Hadrian abandoned direct rule here as he did also in Mesopotamia and reverted to the policy of seeking control via client kings. The Parthians had similar ideas and the Armenian elite were frequently divided between pro-Roman and pro-Parthian factions. Septimus Severus, during whose reign (193 -211) the empire briefly reached its maximum extent of around 2 million square miles (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus), again annexed much of Mesopotamia, but left Armenia as a dependent kingdom . By the time of the Treaty of Acsilene between Rome and Persia in c. 387, the pendulum had again swung in the Persian direction and the boundary then established ran roughly south from Apsaros, leaving about 80% of the historical Armenian kingdom under Persian control. In contrast, the present-day border of Turkey, successor state to the Eastern Roman Empire, runs south-eastwards.

​In the first half of the 1st century B.C. Armenia had been a major power in its own right, controlling territory from the Caspian to the Mediterranean but it made the mistake of siding with Mithridates of Pontos in his struggle with Rome and Pompey’s victory in the Third Mithridatic War (73-63 B.C.) greatly reduced its boundaries. Present-day Armenian territory coincides approximately with the territory occupied by ethnic Armenians, who speak an Iranic language in contrast to the Caucasian Georgians to the north and the Turkic Azeris to the east. The complex ethnic struggles in the region today were discussed in the Circulus meeting of 17/2/17 (pg 260 in the QUESTIONS ARISING (AMALGAMATED) file.) Colchis (the western part of Georgia) was known in Roman times as Lazica and was normally a Roman client kingdom. The Romans/Byzantines operated port facilities along the Black Sea coast, including at Bathys (Bitumi), Petra (developed as a replacement for Bathys in the 6th century under Justinian), Phasis and Sebastopolis (see map of Lazica above). Rome’s `forward policy’ in the region form Nero’s time onwards is briefly discussed in the description of the Apsaros fort at http://www.pontos.dk/publications/books/bss-8-files/bss-8-16-kakhidze

We discussed briefly the description of Britain in Roman times as fertilis prōvincia tyrannōrum (`a province fertile in tyrants’), first found in a letter of St Jerome (late 4th century) and referring to the habit of commanders there to set themselves up as claimants to the imperial throne. It is widely known that Constantine was declared emperor at York in 306, though, as his father already had the status of senior western emperor, under Diocletian’s system of two Augustī as co-emperors and two Caesarēs as their deputies, Constantine was not a complete upstart. This description better fits Clodius Albinus, the governor of Britain proclaimed emperor by his troops in 193 A.D. but defeated and killed by Septimus Severus in Gaul in 197. Severus himself died at York (Eborācum) 211, whilst campaigning in northern Britain. Malcolm thought that Severus’s actual tomb had recently been discovered in the city but subsequent research suggests his ashes were deposited in Hadrian’s Mausoleum (aka the Castel Sant’Angelo - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_Sant%27Angelo), as happened with all the emperors from Hadrian himself at least until Severus’s son Caracalla’s death in 217.

Septimus Severus was a Libyan, with an Italian mother and father of North African (probably mixed Berber and Punic (Phpoenician) descent ). Among his reforms was the disbandonment of the Praetorian Guard which had murdered Commodus’ssuccessor Pertinax, and the recruitment of replacements from his own legions. Entrance to this elte body was thus no longer confined to Italians, and, as centurions for other units were often recruited from it, this had an effect on the ethnc composition of NCOs in an army where the rank-and-file were already multi-ethnic. This broadening of the empire’s base was continued with Caracalla’s edict in 212 conferring Roman citizenship on all free men within its borders.

We also talked about food taboos and John expressed appreciation for what he understood was the Buddhist tradition of preferring vegetarian food but eating meat if it was offered. One story about Gautam Buddha’s death is that it was the result of food poisoning from meat placed in his alms bowl but the version Malcolm heard was that his last meal consisted of mushrooms. It transpires that Theravadin Buddhists generally believed it was pork and Mahayanist (Tibetan-style Buddhists) that it was truffles. Possibly a word meaning food preferred by pigs (which would include truffles) waa misinterpreted as referring to pig flesh (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha)

We read the conclusion to Cicero’s 2nd. Philippic, a speech written in 43 B.C. which foreshadowed Cicero’s own death a few months later, and also the same author’s earlier letters to his friend Atticus on a quarrel between his brother and sister-in-law and to his freedman Tiro on the latter’s illness. For a general introduction to Cicero’s life and writings, see CICERO.ppt, downloadable from https://linguae.weebly.com/igcse-latin.html

Pat was a little doubtful whether Cicero’s complex prose style would have been intelligible even to native speakers if just relying on their ears. John thought that, though published versions might differ slightly from speeches as delivered, the difference would not have been very great and, given that Cicero’s whole purpose was to persuade, he must have been comprehensible to his audience. We overestimate the difficulty of Latin ousrselves because of the way in which we learn it nowadsays – going straight from very simple matrial to `high literature’ with very little in between. We also noted that Chris, who was unfortunately not with us tonight, had written a dissertation on Cicero and would be the best person to answer this question. On a lighter side John retold an anecdote he had heard from Chris about a senator who arrived fifteen minutes after Cicero had started speaking and whispered to the man beside him `What’s he been saying?’. The reply was `I don’t know. He hasn’t got to the verb yet!’

There was also the problem of how orators in the ancient world made themselves heard by large assemblies. A thorough training in voice projection and the good acoustics of some venues like amphitheatres will have helped. Somebody also mentioned as a possibility, the practice in some mosques before the advent of microphones of having assistants relay the imam’s words.

We noted Cicero’s use of the Greek term κακοστόμαχος (kakostomachos, with a bad stomach) and Malcolm thought this was natural given that Greek medicine was acknowledged to be more advanced than Roman. In fact, Cicero frequently inserts Greek words into his correspondence, much as Hong Kong Chinese insert English into their conversation. There could be various reasons for this, including just a desire to show off his knowledge of the language. However, Cicero, as an accomplished interpreter of Greek philosophical literature had really nothing to prove, so force of habit and also, when writing to Atticus, the wish to appeal to a shared interest in Greek culture, was probably the right explanation.

The notes with the Cicero selections were prepared for an IGCSE examination candidate and thus very detailed but we discussed a couple of points further. Valerie though that vīderis(vīderīs?) in line two of the 2nd Philippic passage was definitely perfect subjunctive used as a command rather than a prediction with the future perfect. These two tenses are virtually identical, except in the first person singular where the future perfect -erō is replaced by subjunctive -erim. The perfect subjunctive could also sometimes differ in retaining the original long ī before the personal endings –s, -mus and –tis, where the future perfect, and also the perfect subjunctive itself in colloquial speech, had short i. These older forms were sometimes used by poets, and can normally be identified from the meter, but, since the romans notmally did not mark vowel length, there is no way of knowing whether Cicero himself actually said vīderis or vīderīs. In the letter on Quintus’s matrimonial difficulties, Pat felt the use of the pronoun illa for his wife Pomponia was strongly pejorative ( `that woman’) whilst John noted the great frequency of the use of ille, illa etc. (they evolved later into the standard Romance personal pronouns) and doubted whether there was any special significance in this case,

The obvious affection of Cicero and hs family for Tyro, who had once been a slave but was freed in 53 BC., led on to a discussion of the condition of slaves in general. Although there were in theory legal restraints – an owner did not have the right to kill a slave just on a whim – in practice house slaves were in the same position as animals: they might be treated very well or very badly, depending entirely on their master’s discretion. In the best cases, genuine affection might develop and a slave could, like Tiro, be given his or her freedom. The other extreme is represented by the story of Vedius Pollio, the cruel master who ordered a slave to be thrown into a pool of flesh-eating eels as punishment for breaking an expensive drinking glass. This particular slave was saved by the intervention of Augustus, who was a dinner guest that night, but many others were not so lucky.

The law also allowed for execution of all the slaves in a household should any one of them kill a member of the master’s family. In one recorded instance, during Nero’s reign (54-68 A.D.), the family of the murdered Pedanius Secundus insisted on this punishment, despite strong opposition amongst the ordinary people of Rome. Nero had to have the Praetorian Guard lining the streets to suppress the protests taking place as all 400 were put to death. Public sympathy for the innocent victims was natural enough, as slaves in Rome were not physically distinguishable from poorer free citizens, and many of the latter were themselves freedmen or the descendants of freedmen (see Peter Hunt, Ancient Greek and Roman Slavery, p.153 - https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=8qg1DwAAQBAJ)

There was brief consideration of slavery in other cultures. Zhang Wei thought that the treatment of household slaves during the Qing dynasty was relatively mild, and it was also noted that the Turks using slaves (mostly criminals) to row their galleys down to the early 19th century. Turning to the status of the descendants of former slaves in the USA, John was puzzled why the term `Negro’, regularly used by Black people themselves down to the 1960s. Malclom thought that association with the clearly pejorative `Nigger’ was part of the reason for the change.

This prompted a brief discussion of the much more acceptable term gweilo, which, though in origin pejorative, is now felt by many people to be simply informal. In the Circulus, Pat prefers to Latinize this as umbravir (`ghost man’) and Pat as vir daemoniacus (`devilish man’).

There was mention again of Robert Harris’s historical novels, including the trilogy on Cicero. John also particularly recmended Pompeii and Malcolm told us about his latest book, Munich, which centres on the 1938 agreeement to allow Hitler to take control of the Sudetenland and, like Harris’s Roman books, is soundly based in known historical fact but speculates about other possibilities.

ut (with indicative) when, asveniō, -īre, vēnī, ventum comeArpīnas, Arpīnātis (adj) belonging to ArpinumCicero’s home-town, 65 miles SE of Rome). The word here is in the neuter accusative, with a word like praedium (-ī n, `estate’) understood.frāter, frātris m brotherappāreō, -ēre, apparuī. appearcum (conjunction) when, since (used here, as often, with plpf subjunctive].prīmus, -a, -um first; in prīmīs, (at) firstsermō, -ōnis m conversation, talknōbīs…fuit: literally `to us (dat.) conversation was about you and that [was] a lot’ (i.e. `we had a conversation about you and it was a long one’; prn. is is masc referring to sermō)ex eō: `from that’, i.e. afterwards, subsequentlyea quae (n.pl.) `things which’.fuerāmus….locūtī: plpf of loquor (loquī, locūtus sum) would normally be locutī erāmus but Cicero has substituted fuērāmus (`we had been’) for erāmus and fronted the auxiliary, probably to emphasise this was something they had aready talked about some time beforeinter nōs (acc.): `between ourselves’, `with each other’..soror, sorōris f sister (Quintus’s wife Pomponia was Atticus’s sister)Tusculānus, -a, -um (adj.) connected with Tusculum, a small town 15 miles SE of Rome where Cicero often stayed on route to Arpinum (see map). A word like praediō (estate) is again to be understood with the adjective tam so (going with the adjective mītis, -e mild.)plācō (1) appease, make calm tum at that timeetiam sī even if quī, qua/quae, quod (adj.) anyratiō, ratiōnis f method, thinking, accountingsumptus, -ūs m spending, consumption, expensesdē ratiōne sumptūs = about the expense accounts;

​mihi maiōrī stomachō …fuērunt: were a bigger annoyance (literally `for a bigger annoyance’) to me than to Quintus himself’ (`double dative ‘construction)inde from that point Aquīnum: `to Aquīnum’ (accus. of destination with place name);.in Arcānō: `at the Arcan estate’ remaneō, -ēre, -mānsī, -mānsum remain.Aquīnum ad mē: `to Aquinum to me’ (ie `to me at Aquinum’; the Latin order logically puts the town first then the person who had to be found inside it).postrīdiē on the next day māne in the morningvēnit: note long vowel in perfect stem of veniōnārrō (1) narrate, tellsēcum: literally `with self’, referring back to Quīntus as subject of nārrāvit; in reported speech the relative ponoun may refer either to the subject of the accusative-infinitive clause or to the subj, of the whole sentenceillam: her dormiō, -īre, -īvī/iī, -ītum sleepvolō, velle, voluī wish ; voluisse is perf. infinitive (`to have wished’)discessūra: fem. of future participle from discēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum, departcum discessūra esset: `when she was about to leave’ fuisse:`to have been’ (perf. inf. of sum)eiusmodī : of that kind quālis, -e of which/what (sort)vīdissem: subjunctive (pluperfect) in a subordinate clause within a reported statement.Quid quaeris: `what are you looking for?’ (i.e `What more do you need to know?’)vel ipsī; `even to [Pomponia] herself’licet: it is permissible (used here with subjunctive rather than the more usual dative and infinitive)hoc dīcās: `that you should say this’hūmānitās, -tātis f humanity, kindness, good naturedēsum, dēesse, dēfuī: be lackingeī…dēfuisse: (lit: `to her to have been lacking’): `that she lacked kindness’iūdicium, -ī n judgement; meō iūdiciō: `in my judgement’illō diē: on that day.diē dēfuisse: note the alliteration​

From a letter to his young secretary, Tiro writes to his secretary begging him to get better soon. TULLIUS TIRŌNĪ SUŌ SAL. PLŪR. DĪC. ET CICERŌ ET Q. FRĀTER ET Q. F.

TULLIUS Cicero refers to himself by his nōmen (clan name) and adds the names of other family members who also send greetings to Tiro.TIRŌNĪ: `to Tiro’, a slave of Cicero’s freed in 53 B.C. and thereafter known as Marcus Tullius Tirō. He served as Cicero’s secretary and published his correspondence after his death.SAL. PLŪR. DĪC: i.e. salūtem plūrimam dīcit (`says very much greeting’), a standard opening for a letter,CICERŌ: i.e. Cicero’s son, who had the same three names as hs father but, as customary, was referred to in the family by his cognōmen alone.Q.FRĀTER: Cicero’s brother Quintus.Q.F.: Quīntus fīlius, i.e. Cicero’s nephew.varius, -a, -um various, diverse afficiō, afficiere, affēcī, affectum affect pāgina, -ae f pageprior, -ius first, earlier perturbō (1) disturb, upsetpaullum, a little (adv) alter, altera, alterum (the)other recreō (1) revive, refreshquārē for reach reason (lit:: `by which thing’)nunc now quidem indeed dubitō (1) doubtquīn that, whereby not (used after negative verbs of doubting).quoad intil, as long as plānus, -a, -um flat, obviousvaleō, -ēre, valuī be well, be strong (subjunctive is used after quoad when the focus is on what is anticipated, not on actually occurs)nāvigātiō, -ōnis f voyage via -ae f road committō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum, entrust, commit (subjunctive is needed in a quīn clause but also here gives idea of obligation) satis enough matūrē early.satis…vīderō…vīderō: future perfects used here as focus is on a future point at which Cicero will already have seen Tiro. dē about, concerning medicus, -ī m doctor et: here meaning `also’ existimō (1) think of, estimate bene existimārī: `to be well thought of’ (i.e. `that he is well thought of’; acusative subject fir the infinitive (e.g. eum) is understood) scrībō, -ere, ​

​spērō (1) hope validus, -a, -um wellvīceris…vīderis: as at the start of the letter, Cicero uses a double future perfect for emphasis. Tiro will please Cicero more by getting well than by all the services he has previously done him.bellus, -a, -um handsome,agrreable, neat (a very common word in collqiual Latin , which has survived as French bel, belle etc.)sī rēctē erit: `if it will be correctly’, i.e. `if all goes well’.Mescīnius, -ī m Mescinius Rufus, who had been Cicero’s quaestor (finance officer) when he was governor of Cicilia in 52 B.C. Although Cicero elsewhere says he was a poor and dishonest administrator he evidently thought he would make a good travelling companion.dēcursūrum: future particple from dēcurrō (`journey down’), used here as an abbreviation of the future infinitive dēcursūrum esse in a reported statement dependent on putō. The Romans spoke of `coming down’ from a province as we do of `coming down from university’.inhūmānus, -a, -um unkindut mihi vīsus est:`as he seemed to me’, i.e. `as my impression was’dīligō, -ere, dīlēxī, dīlēctum be fond of, have a high opinion of (the word used in the Latin Vulgate for `love’ in the Christian sense)cum…tum: both…andcōnsulito: a more formal version of the regular imperative cōnsule (from cōnsulō, -er, -suluī, -sultum consult, have concern for)dīligēns, -entis diligent, careful nāvigātiō, -ōnis f voyagenūllus, -a, -um no, none iam now festīnō (1) hurryvolō, velle, voluī wish, wantlabōrō (1) be troubled, worknihil…sīs: lit. `I am troubled about nothing except that you be well’ (i.e. `My only concern is for your recovery’). The subjunctive (sīs) clause is expressing Cicero’s wish.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.